UOO Nigeria loses N500m to crisis

George Onyejiuwa, Owerri

The Managing Director/CEO of UOO Nigeria Plc, Nze Edozie Okafor, has disclosed that the crisis that enveloped the company in recent past set it back by 50 years, just as the company launched a new logo as part of its efforts to reposition.

According to Okafor, between 2002 and 2003 financial year, the overall turnover of the group was in excess of over N1 billion, adding that during these years of crisis, the company lost over N500 million, just as meagre resources realised were directed towards servicing debts and litigations.

Okafor disclosed this at the 13th Annual Managers’ Conference of the company held in Owerri, Imo State, which featured the rebranding of the company with a new logo.

“It was in an effort not to fall back on our past mistakes that necessitated the hiring of the Chief Operation Officer who joined the company in 2009, having worked in blue chip companies where he acquired diverse managerial experiences.

“All these we found in Mr. Gabriel Nkanang, then chief operating officer, who is now a non-executive director of the company. With him, we were able to build a structure, which every division is religiously following and this is gradually being internalised in our organisation.”

Okafor lauded the efforts of the founding fathers who piloted the affairs of the company for the past 50 years with little or no education, adding that upon the advice of the board, the management was directed to focus on two major divisions – agriculture and real estate from more than nine functional divisions in the past, most of which are now moribund.

Enumerating the success recorded in the agricultural division, Okafor explained that the company had equally gone into lease agreement with some entrepreneurs in Lagos to develop some of its properties that are in poor conditions for better revenue.

“Some other buildings and land have been earmarked for renovation in Onitsha, Aba, Lagos and Abuja. When these projects come to maturity, the income base of the division will be greatly enhanced.”